In La Jolla Cove, light bends and colors blur as it travels deeper underwater—but now, a smartphone camera is learning to see what humans cannot. Samsung has partnered with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and SeaTrees, a California-based conservation group, to launch Ocean Mode, a new camera feature that transforms how scientists monitor and restore some of the planet's most fragile ecosystems.
Coral reefs are vanishing. These underwater gardens support a quarter of all marine life and are home to over 1 million species, yet rising water temperatures are destroying them faster than coastal communities can respond. For billions of people, the stakes are personal: reefs provide food, coastal protection during storms, and generate billions of dollars globally in economic value. Kelp forests off San Diego's coast face similar pressures and declines.
The innovation emerged from a straightforward challenge. Stuart Sandin, a professor in Scripps' Marine Biology department, and his colleague Nicole Peterson have long relied on expensive, bulky underwater equipment to study reefs. Working alongside Samsung engineers and Leah Hays, SeaTrees' project director, they recognized an opportunity: smartphones are everywhere, affordable, and constantly improving. Why not harness that power?
Ocean Mode solves a technical problem that has long hampered underwater photography. As cameras descend, light fades and currents distort images, washing out the color and detail scientists need. Samsung's software compensates for these challenges, allowing a smartphone to capture clear, detailed photographs below the surface. Researchers then combine hundreds or thousands of these overlapping images using photogrammetry—reconstructing three-dimensional models of entire reef sections. "Just based on the offsets from those different angles, you can reconstruct the three dimensional structure of what you're imaging," Peterson explained. "It works really well for coral reefs because they're stable."
The impact is profound. These virtual models allow researchers to conduct what Sandin calls "virtual field work," taking measurements and making observations without the time and expense of repeated diving trips. More importantly, by scanning the same reef over time, scientists can measure whether restoration efforts are actually working. "We focus on, 'How big is this thing, and is it alive?'" Sandin said. "Then, the benefit you get by that comparison, 'Do you have more structure? Do you have more places for fish to live?'"
Cost matters enormously in conservation. Traditional underwater cameras are expensive; smartphones are not. This democratizes reef monitoring. The partnership has already mapped 86 coral reefs and is scaling up rapidly.
On the ground, results are tangible. Through its work with Scripps, SeaTrees has planted more than 21,000 coral fragments and removed over 9,000 coral predators such as sea urchins, restoring 135,000 square meters of reef colonies across five project sites. Hays, a native Australian, oversees conservation efforts across 13 countries. Last year, when sustained high temperatures triggered a bleaching event in Fiji that killed up to half the coral in some areas, SeaTrees' teams were equipped and informed enough to respond with targeted interventions at their project sites.
"A lot of what we do is financially empower groups on the ground who don't have access to larger grants and big funding bodies," Hays said. "We provide them with technology, camera equipment, scientific training and technical support."
This partnership represents something larger: the recognition that conservation innovation thrives when marine biologists, technology companies, and on-the-ground organizations collaborate. Ocean Mode is just a smartphone feature, but it symbolizes how everyday technology can unlock the detailed knowledge we need to save ecosystems that billions depend on.